Aligning and transport mechanism for cableless bowling pin setting machines



Dec. 24, 1968 A. SCHMID 3,417,992

ALIGNING AND TRANSPORT MECHANISM FOR CABLELESS BOWLING PIN SETTINGMACHINES Filed Nov. 4, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Flu u t Sch/411Dec. 24, 1968 A. SCHMID 3,417,992

ALIGNING AND TRANSPORT MECHANISM FOR CABLELESS BOWLING PIN SETTINGMACHINES IN VENTOR Ausuit scmiJ BY Um [J/(Zum ATTORNEY Dec. 24, 1968 A.SCHMID 3,

ALIGNING AND TRANSPORT MECHANISM FOR CABLELESS BOWLING PIN SETTINGMACHINES Filed Nov. 4, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ZNV ENT OR August SJMI'J BY7 Um ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,417,992 ALIGN'ING AND TRANSPORTMECHANISM FOR CABLELESS BOWLING PIN SETTING MACHINES August Schmid,Schwerzenbach, Switzerland, assignor to PatentverwertungsundFinanzierungsgesellschaft Serania A.G., Glarus, Switzerland Filed Nov.4, 1964, Ser. No. 408,991 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Nov.11, 1963, 13,802/ 63 5 Claims. (Cl. 273-43) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREAn aligning and transport mechanism for cableless bowling pin settingmachines incorporating bowling pin conveying means formed of a pair ofendless spaced conveying means formed of a pair of endless spacedconveyor elements, such as conveyor chains, which are guided through apredetermined path of travel. Extending between the spaced andsubstantially parallel conveyor chains are a plurality of transversebars between each two adjacent pair of which there can be supported abowling pin. A base plate is disposed beneath the conveyor chains at asuitable distance. The base plate successively includes in the directionof travel of the bowling pins a substantially horizontal portion whichis in substantial parallelism with the conveyor chains, an upwardlyinclined ascending portion and a merging downwardly inclined descendingportion.

The present invention has reference to an improved aligning andtransport mechanism for cableless automatic bowling pin settingmachines.

In such type bowling pin setting machines the randomly positionedknocked-down pins or deadwood are raised, thereafter aligned in the samedirection and then deposited in a bowling pin reservoir or magazine,whereafter there occurs placing of the bowling pins in correct positionupon the pin spotting section of the bowling alley.

The present invention, therefore, has as one of its primary objects toprovide a relatively simple and operationally reliable apparatus foraligning in a common direction the bowling pins and for furtherconveying the same after they have been raised by a lifting mechanism.

Another important object of the present invention has reference to animproved aligning and transport mechanism for arranging the bowling pinsin a predetermined direction in a highly reliable and positive manner,with further conveyance of these pins being prevented until each hasassumed its proper position.

Still a further important object of this invention is directed to theprovision of an improved mechanism for aligning and transporting bowlingpins to a handling sta tion, such mechanism incorporating means whichcontinually act upon each bowling pin which is ot properly positionedsuch that such pin is repeatedly subjected to a tumbling action until itassumes the position required for further conveyance, whereupon such pinis then transported to the next handling station.

Yet another significant object of the present invention is directed toan improved aligning and transport mechanism for bowling pins which isrelatively simple in construction, highly reliable in operation,economical to manufacture, and which incorporates means ensuring for theproper alignment of the pins before such are transported to a subsequenthandling station as well as means for acting upon the pins such thatthey move into the handling station in a predetermined position.

The aforementioned objects are generally achieved Patented Dec. 24, 1968lCC through the provision of the inventive aligning and transportmechanism which is manifested by the features that, there are providedtwo substantially parallel, spaced arranged, conveyor elements, forinstance endless chains or bands, between which there are spacedlyarranged at the periphery of these conveyor elements a plurality oftransverse rods or bars. Furthermore, there are provided deflectingelements, for example deflecting gears or rollers, over which the chainsor bands are guided over at least a portion of their length in adirection substantially parallel to a base plate, whereby the bowlingpins which arrive in random position come to rest between the spacedtransverse bars, and at least a portion of the base plate scends inorder ot eject those bowling pins where the longitudinal axis thereofdoes not extend approximately parallel to the transverse bars.

Other features, objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent by reference to the following detailed description and drawingsin which:

FIGURE 1 schematically illustrates a vertical crosssectional viewthrough the inventive aligning and transport mechanism for bowling pins;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through the point ofconnection of a transverse bar to a conveyor chain;

FIGURE 3 is a top-plan view of the aligning and transport mechanism forbowling pins depicted in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing details of the portionof the aligning and transport mechanism of FIGURE 1 which ejects thebowling pins in proper position into the next handling station.

Describing now the drawings it will be understood that the inventivealigning and transport mechanism for bowling pins constitutes a portionof a cableless automatic pin setting machine and essentially serves toalign in the same direction the bowling pins which, after theirconveyance by a lifting mechanism, appear in random orientation. Thedetails of the lifting mechanism used for raising the knocked-downbowling pins or deadwood swept-off the bowling alley are not importantto the understanding of the present invention, yet reference may be hadto my co-pending United States application, Ser. No. 408,846, filed Nov.4, 1964, entitled Lifting Mechanism For Automatic Pin Setting Machines,now abandoned, and in which there is described a lifting mechanismsuitable for use in conjunction with the inventive algning and transportmechansm.

It will be further appreciated that this aligning and transportmechanism is generally located at the rear end of the bowling alleyabove the pin spotting section. Furthermore, under the term cablelesspin setting machine there is to be understood such an installation inwhich, after the bowling of the ball, the pins are not raised by meansof cables, rather without cables are transported upwardly by means ofthe aforementioned lifting mechanism or elevator and from above aredeposited at their predetermined location.

Considering now specifically FIGURES l and 3, it will be seen that thebowling pins 1 are raised in lying position by means of anon-illustrated lifting mechanism and continuously arrive via a chute 2in random orientation at the inventive aligning and transport mechanism,generally designated by reference character T. Since this chute 2 isconsiderably wider than the transport mecha nism T, as best seen byreferring to FIGURE 3, an endless, substantially horizontally arrangedconveyor band 3 or the like is located at the region of one end of thechute 2 which feeds the downwardly sliding or rolling bowling pins 1 ina direction towards the aforesaid transport mechanism T.

This aligning and transport mechanism T will be seen to embody twospaced, endless conveyor elements, in this case endless chains 4, whichare guided about a plurality of deflecting elements, such as deflectinggears 5 to 10. Between these conveyor chains 4 and throughout theirentire periphery there are connected thereto a plurality of transversebars or rods 11 extending in parallelism with one another. The length ofsuch bars 11 is somewhat larger than the length of the pins 1, themutual spacing between any two neighboring bars 11 being somewhat largerthan the greatest thickness or diameter of the aforesaid bowling pins. Abase or floor plate member 12, arranged substantially parallel to theupper runs 4a of the chains 4 and somewhat beneath the latter isprovided in order that the pins 1 to be transported can tumble or rolltherefrom or bear thereagainst, respectively, as will be more fullyexplained shortly.

The inventive aligning and transport mechanism T can be considered toincorporate three sections, namely a section A neighboring the chute 2where the base plate 12 extends in substantially horizontal direction, asection B where the base plate 12 ascends from the bottom to the top,and finally a section C where the base plate 12 descends from the top tothe bottom. Moreover, the spacing of this base plate 12 from thetransverse bars 11 approximately corresponds to half the diameter of abowling pin 1, measured at its largest diameter or thickest location.

The attachment of the individual transverse bars 11 to the mutuallyspaced and substantially in parallelism guided conveyor elements e.g.chains 4, is more clearly depicted in FIGURE 2. Here, it will be seenthat the chain bolts 15 project laterally past the chain rollers 16 andpiercingly extend through a guide plate 17 over which the respectivehollow transverse bar 11 is pushed. At both ends of the respective chainbolts 15 there is located a suitable chain lock or securing device 18 inorder to safeguard against axial displacement.

The deflecting gears or rollers 5 to for the chains 4 are rotatablymounted in a frame 13 through the intermediary of bolt means 14, withone of these deflecting gears being operatively connected with asuitable drive motor (not shown) in order to drive the chains 4. Arespective plankor board-shaped holder or support member 18 which isrigidly connected with the frame 13 or else with another suitablestationary member, is located above and in the region of the respectiveends of the revolving transverse bars 11 at the location of the rearmostdeflecting gear 9.

When viewed from the top, and as best illustrated in FIGURE 3, each suchholder 18 is advantageously of triangular configuration and extends pastthe head 1c of the bowling pins 1 passing therebeneath. On the otherhand, these holder members 18 are spaced at such a distance from thebase plate 12 that the foot or base 1d of the pins 1 cannot move beneaththese holder members 18, rather bears against the associated inclinedsurface 23 thereof, whereby the head In of each such bowling pin 1 ispushed beneath the overlying holder member 18 in the event this head 10is not already located in this desired position. Consequently, thespacing D between the confronting holder members 18 at the outlet end18a of the transport mechanism T is smaller than the length of the pins1.

While keeping the foregoing description in mind, the mode of operationof the described aligning and transport mechanism T of the subjectinvention will now be considered:

The bowling pins 1 which are continuously raised by the non-illustratedlifting mechanism or elevator, or equivalent expedient, arrive at thechute 2 and from the latter come either directly into the aligning andtransport mechanism T, or, however, are conveyed towards such in randomorientation by means of the approximately horizontal conveyor band 3. Inso doing, the

bowling pins 1 come to rest in the openings or compartments 4b formedbetween the neighboring spaced transverse bars 11 and bear against thebase plate 12. Such positioning of the bowling pins 1 is only possiblewith those pins whose lengthwise axis is essentially parallel to thelongitudinal direction of the transverse bars 11. Those randomlyincoming pins 1 which lie transversely with regard to the lengthwiseaxis of the transverse bars 11 cannot initially move into the openings4b between such bars, thus roll for such time upon the remaining pins 1and the transverse bars 11 until they likewise assume a position inwhich they are carried along by these aforesaid transverse bars.

Since the chains 4 together with the transverse bars 11 are continuouslymoved in the section A of the described transport mechanism T theretakes place an entrainment of such pins 1 which lie in the spacing oropenings 4b between these transverse bars 11. In so doing, it isirrelevant whether the bowling pins 1 lie head to head next to oneanother, or if one pin has its head 1c lying next to the base 1d of anadjacent pin (see FIGURE 3). What is important is that their respectivelengthwise axes lie approximately parallel to one another and to thetransverse bars 11, and further that the pins 1 do not laterally extendpast the chains 4.

In the section B of the aligning and transport mechanism T in which thebase plate 12 is inclined with respect to the horizontal, all those pins1 are thrown-off which are not located in proper position between thetransverse bars 11. This so-called throwing-off or tumbling operation isstill further supported by means of an elastic cable or band 20possessing a somewhat larger spacing from the base plate 12-measured atright angles to the latterthan the largest thickness or diameter of thepins 1. The inclination of the base plate 12 with respect to thehorizontal lies between approximately 45 and preferably amuonting toapproximately 65. This angle is selected in dependence upon the diameterof the pins 1 and the spacing of the transverse bars 11 from the baseplate 12, wehreby there is desired that those bowling pins arepositively thrown-off which lie in inclined position between or upon thetransverse bars 11 or extend laterally past the chains 4.

In the subsequent section C of the transport mechanism T the pins 1,which now are all disposed in correct position between the transversebars 11, are again downwardly conveyed, with the head 10 of each suchpin arriving beneath one of the holder members 18 at the discharge zoneof such transport mechanism T. Assuming correct positioning of the pins1 at the section C there appears a small intermediate compartment orspacing between each of the holder members 18 and the associated pinheads 11:, so that each such pin head does not clamp between this holdermember and the base plate 12. It will further be appreciated that sincetwo holder members 18 are provided it does not make any differencewhether neighboring pins are arranged head to head or foot to head.

Now, as soon as that transverse bar 11 against which the pin 1 bearsstarts to rotate about the deflecting gear 9 then the central portion ofthe pin 1 is freed, whereby the latter strives to roll or fall into theexit chute 21. On the other hand, the head 10 of the pin 1 is initiallystill fixedly held or'clamped between the associated holder member 18and the transverse bar 11, as best depicted in-FIG- URE 4. Only afterthe chains 4 and therewith the transverse bar 11 have moved furtherthrough a small path will the head 1a of such pin also be released, sothat this pin can then, with its foot or base 1d leading, fall into theexit chute 21. The same operation occurs if a pin is located in theopposite position, that is, turned through an angle of substantiallybetween the transverse bars 11. In this event clamping of the head 10 ofthis pin takes place by means of the other of these two holder members18. It will be appreciated that by virtue of thisarrangement there isalways ensured that each pin 1, with its base 1d leading, falls into theexit chute 21 and, thus, is properly aligned to reach a further handlingsta tion, for instance, a bowling pin reservoir or magazine.

While there is shown and described a present preferred embodiment of theinvention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is notlimited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practisedwithin the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Aligning and transport mechanism for the bowling pins of a cablelessautomatic pin setting machine comprising, in combination, a pair ofsubstantially parallel, spaced, endless conveyor elements in the form ofconveyor chains, a plurality of spacedly arranged transverse barsoperatively connected between and with said conveyor chains, a baseplate cooperating with said transverse bars, said base platesuccessively including an upwardly inclined ascending portion and anoppositely inclined descending portion, deflecting means for guidingsaid conveyor elements over at least a portion of their lengthapproximately parallel to said base plate, said deflecting meansincorporating sprocket wheels, each two neighboring spaced transversebars providing a pin receiving opening therebetween for the receipt of abowling pin, the bowling pins which are in random orientation eachcoming to rest in a respective pin receiving opening between twoneighboring transverse bars and said base plate, said aligning andtransport mechanism successively including a pin receiving section, anintermediate section incorporating said inclined ascending portion ofsaid base plate, and a pin delivery section incorporating saidoppositely inclined descending portion of said base plate, saidascending portion of said base plate enclosing an angle with respect tothe horizontal which is less than 90 and extending through saidintermediate section, said ascending portion serving for the ejection ofall bowling pins whose lengthwise axis is not disposed substantiallyparallel to said transverse bars, means provided at said pin deliverysection for insuring that each bowling pin will fall away from said pindelivery section with its base portion leading, a chute membercooperating with said pin delivery section for receiving the fallingbowling pins, said ensuring means at said pin delivery sectionincorporating a respective projecting rmember spacedly arranged aboveeach end of said transverse bars passing therebeneath and extending overthe head of bowling pins passing therebeneath, each projecting memberbeing provided with an inclined surface cooperable with the base of abowling pin in order to push the base of this bowling pin away from theedge of the conveying device, the minimum spacing between the respectiveprojecting members being less than the length of a bowling pin, wherebysaid bowling pin falls base first into said chute member.

2. An aligning and transport mechanism as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid base plate includes a substantially horizontal extending portionwhich is in parallelism with said conveyor chains disposed before saidupwardly inclined ascending portion in the direction of conveyor travel,said pin receiving section incorporating said horizontally extendingportion of said base plate.

3. An aligning and transport mechanism as defined in claim 2, whereinsaid inclined surface of each said projecting member comprising saidensuring means further serves to push the head of the bowling pinbeneath the opposite projecting member.

4. Aligning and transport mechanism as defined in claim 1 furtherincluding at least one elastic member comprising an element disposed atthe region of the start of said ascending inclined portion and abovesaid transverse bars for assisting the throwing-off of non-correctlypositioned bowling pins from said transverse bars.

5. An aligning and transport mechanism as defined in claim 1, whereinthe angle of inclination of said ascending inclined portion isapproximately between 45 and with respect to the horizontal, and whereinsaid descending inclined portion possesses an inclination of less than85 with respect to the horizontal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,557,177 10/1925 Lorenz et al.273-43 1,692,796 11/1928 Bishop 273-43 2,757,001 7/1956 Janes 273-432,786,679 3/1957 Strauss et a1 273-43 3,004,759 10/1961 Bond 273-433,017,184 1/1962 Gruss 273-43 3,272,508 9/1966 DOWd et a1 273-43 ANTONO. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 198-33

